1、Augmented Trends Report 2019 Humanity 2 Over the last year weve witnessed the rise of a concept that centres on the relationship between technology and humans and the way in which this impacts our daily lives. We call this concept Augmented Humanity. So, what do we actually mean by this? Augmented H

2、umanity is what happens when humans work in harmony with technology and machine intelligence to expand and enrich life, helping us to experience more and in deeper ways, to make better decisions and to fulfil our potential as humans. More and more, intelligent machines are dramatically transforming

3、how we imagine our relationship with technology. The dramatic speed of development in areas such as AI and machine learning means that the master and servant relationship is shifting and were increasingly moving to a point where we as humans work in harmony with the technology that surrounds us. Aug

4、mented Humanity This has impacts on everything from how we work and play, to how we experience art, to how we travel, shop, spend our leisure time and engage with our favourite brands. Crucially it also has major implications on the time we spend on repetitive manual tasks that can be automated, opt

5、imised or digitised. These changes fundamentally impact key aspects of our existence. As a result we believe that this state of Augmented Humanity is another key stage in our evolution as humans. We see this development as a potentially hugely positive step for humankind. But we acknowledge that the

6、re are potential risks some of which were already beginning to see in our daily lives, played out in the current political climate and the emergence of a backlash against technology companies. After all, technology amplifies the good and the bad. Throughout this report we aim to highlight the benefi

7、ts that technology brings to our lives, but we wont shy away from the challenges. Well explain why we believe that this is an important moment in human history, outline some of the myriad opportunities that these developments open up and shine a light on some of the challenges posed by these develop

8、ments. Crucially well also highlight why businesses cant afford to close their eyes to change and well offer advice on navigating this new landscape in order to benefit in the future. “2018 has been another year of enormous, constant change. With major developments in areas like voice technology, un

9、attended retail, extended reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, our world continues to evolve. Technology today plays a key role in driving relevance, scale, and elevating human experiences. The changes were seeing have the potential to transform fundamental aspects of our human exi

10、stence, helping us to live better lives. It is our job to harness its wonderful power and potential for businesses and brands, in serving people better. Our 2019 trends report shines a light on key themes for the coming year and highlights the role that businesses and brands can play in the age of A

11、ugmented Humanity.” Jean Lin, Isobar Global CEO 3 Augmented Humanity Digital as a force for good? While the digital economy has driven growth and brought benefits to many, technological change also brings major challenges. As part of Dentsu Aegis Networks Digital Society Index Report from earlier th

12、is year, 20,000 people from around the world were surveyed to determine their openness to technological change. The report found that just 45% of respondents believe that digital will be a force for good. A further 57% of people believe that the pace of technological change is too fast. Digging furt

13、her into the stats revealed intriguing differences by country. China emerged as the most optimistic country with 73% seeing digital as a force for good - perhaps explaining why the country leads much of the major advances in this area. The US on the other hand was more cautious, coming joint 6th on

14、41%. The UK finished in 8th on 40%. Overall, the report concluded that while people are generally confident that the positive impacts of digital technology will outweigh the negative over the next five to 10 years (65%), when it comes to the more specific measures of its ability to create future job

15、s (29%) and to address societal challenges such as poverty, health risks, or environmental degradation (42%), people are more pessimistic.1 The context for change If we look back 60 years and consider where we thought wed be in 2019, it was a widely held belief that by this stage robots would now be

16、 rolling around our houses doing the housework and releasing us from domestic drudgery. Like the Jetsons. But that didnt happen. Instead, its become obvious that a large, multi-purpose robot isnt as effective as taking the components that make a robot useful and incorporating them into our own lives

17、. The features that those robots would have offered now become part of our indoor environments or integrated into everyday things. And so, instead of a single machine that does many things, we have many machines that each carry out small tasks, essentially turning our environments into their own con

18、nected ecosystems. This modular, mix and match approach is much more appropriate for humans with very individual needs and demands rather than a one size fits all solution. This approach now means that as a species were living in a state of Augmented Humanity where technology scales our most human a

19、ttributes both good and bad. As a result we now have faster access to information that can help inform our decisions. More and more, technology also enhances our life experiences and allows us to interact and engage in ways we didnt know were possible. In the right hands, technology increases our ca

20、pacity as humans and indeed has the potential to redefine what it means to be human. 4 The evolving interface How the intersection between humans and technology is changing. The human algorithm How data can help us to better understand ourselves and enable better decisions. The fluid vs the collecti

21、ve self How the digital world enhances personal and collective experiences. The trust paradox How technology can help or hinder our understanding of the increasingly complex world around us. The transformed experience How Augmented Humanity enables us to feel and experience the world differently and

22、 in deeper ways. Our five themes for 2019 We will be exploring five key themes which we believe demonstrate how the relationship between humanity and technology is evolving. Each of these has implications for businesses and brands in the coming months and years. In each chapter well cover evolving t

23、rends and developments alongside key learnings for businesses and brands and showcase some of the best examples of these trends. Augmented Humanity 5 The evolving interface How the intersection between humans and technology is changing. Augmented Humanity 6 First, we look at the starting point of ou

24、r interactions with technology the interface between humans and technology. This is a key point in any evolutionary journey learning how to use tools more effectively. Developments in voice and gaze as human machine interfaces allow people to go hands free when interacting with machines. The removal

25、 of this physical layer reduces friction, opening up the possibility that we can access information as quickly as we can think about it. Undoubtedly the key discussion point in this space over the last year has been the growing importance of voice technology. However we will also be discussing major

26、 developments like unattended retail which rely on technology such as facial and retina recognition to change the way that we interact with technology in everyday life. The guiding principle behind these changes is the ambition to remove friction from our interactions with technology and brands. As

27、ease of access continues to improve, this will undoubtedly impact on our behaviours as consumers something that should be of interest to all brands. 6 1. The evolving interface 7 1.1Voice 7 1. The evolving interface 8 It has been impossible to avoid talk of voice technology in 2018 and theres no sig

28、n that this trend will slow down throughout 2019. Research now suggests that already 20% of the US population2 has access to smart speakers. The popularity of technologies such as Alexa, Google Home and Xiaomis Xiao AI smart speaker are starting to make voice assistants a common feature in many hous

29、eholds across the globe. Elsewhere, were finally seeing podcasts deliver on their early promise with the medium now firmly in the mainstream.3 Were also seeing news media experimenting by moving from print straight to voice, as in the case of the recently launched Guardian Voice Lab.4 While this doe

30、snt necessarily mean that as a species were ready to abandon screens some voice assistants now incorporate screens after all the move from visual to verbal represents a fundamental shift. The development of this trend will require a new way of thinking about brand identity, and calls for a new level

31、 of creativity in voice search. Tellingly, Gartner Research5 suggests that voice- driven search queries are on track to become the dominant search mode for mobile users. 1.1 Voice Case study: Commerce-enabled voice solution for Bonafont Isobar Group Brazil created the countrys first commerce-enabled

32、 voice solution for leading water brand, Bonafont. The application, called Bonafont Em Casa, allows customers to purchase water supply to their homes by voice command. Each customer is served by the distributor closest to their home address. Delivery is made within one- and-a-half hours after the or

33、der has been placed, or by appointment if the customer prefers, with payment also being made through the platform. In addition to practicality and convenience the voice solution provides customers, Bonafont Em Casa was also designed to give more transparency to customers, giving them the option to s

34、chedule the orders, monitor the status of delivery, and enabling them to evaluate the quality of service of more than 85 registered dealers in Greater So Paulo. 9 Amongst other things, brands now need to consider how easily product names translate for voice. The importance of this cant be understate

35、d. Many brands have several different pronunciations. Brands must now consider how they can standardise pronunciation. Beyond this, tech providers need to resolve how to deliver results in a medium where multiple search results dont work. More and more were entering a world where the first result re

36、turned will be the default decision resulting in the equivalent of the screen- based Google “Im feeling lucky” search. Voice technology is already fundamentally changing the way we search. As consumers become more used to having conversations with assistants, so searches will likely become more conv

37、ersational. Microsoft research shows that were already seeing an increase in questions as part of search phrasing. The use of queries Case study: Voice-enabled cocktail solution for Diageo Isobar worked with Diageo to create The Bar, an Alexa skill designed to help customers work on their cocktail s

38、kills at home. The Bar enables people to create their favourite cocktails and learn new techniques using the Amazon Echo Show, tapping into the latest voice technology and the visual functionality of the device. Users are presented with three different options for a complete 360 degree cocktail maki

39、ng experience. The Bar is also enabled with commerce functionalities, allowing users to order the right ingredients directly through Amazon Prime. Case study: Voice-enabled mobile banner for Godrej Security Solutions Isobar collaborated with Godrej Security Solutions (GSS) to launch Indias first voi

40、ce- enabled mobile banner promoting the brands latest security camera. On Mothers Day, GSS created an emotional digital video, #MomsJustKnow, focusing on maternal instinct. Isobar created a digital media campaign for GSS that leveraged the mothers lullaby in the form of a Voice Driven Banner ad to t

41、rigger a video, which was executed for the first time on a mobile device. The Conversational Canvas: A tool for businesses and brands The world of chatbots, digital assistants and smart speakers like Google Home and Amazon Alexa is rapidly maturing. More and more brands are using these platforms suc

42、cessfully, the number of applications is growing exponentially and the user experience is getting better. But how do you design a good conversational interface? To help businesses and brands understand how to do this better, Isobar Netherlands has developed The Conversational Canvas7, a free templat

43、e that helps you to design a digital assistant that really adds value. 1.1 Voice starting with “who”, “what”, “where” and “how” has increased by 6% in the UK since 2015.6 This development will make natural language search increasingly important. Its also important to note that voice technology will

44、allow brands to have their own voice for the first time. In this new world, brands will be forced to consider what they should sound like. This presents a great opportunity, but also a challenge. 1010 1.2The retail interface 1. The evolving interface 11 When considering the evolving interface, one o

45、f the most interesting areas of development is in the physical retail space. Here, changes in how we interact with technology and brands are being driven by developments in facial, retina and finger print recognition, driving us increasingly towards the cashless society. Facial recognition is alread

46、y playing a growing role in the mobile space. Counterpoint Research predicts that more than one billion smartphones will include facial-recognition features in the next two years thats 64% of all smartphones in 2020, up from 5% in 2017.8 This is a trend which is set to impact many sectors. Earlier t

47、his year, Amazon opened its first Amazon Go9 store in Seattle. The launch brought to mainstream attention the concept of unattended retail. Here, shoppers pick up items in the store and leave without paying. Amazon later bills the shoppers credit card based on the items they selected. While Amazon G

48、o is the most high- profile unattended retail launch in the west, a number of retailers particularly in China are trialling similar systems. From a retail perspective, this development has huge implications for the store of the future, with the capacity to transform all aspects of shopping as retail

49、ers look to introduce increasingly frictionless experiences. 11 1.2 The retail interface 12 As a result of these trends, at Isobar were seeing increasing demand for physical retail innovation from our clients. One particular area of interest to us is in the global trade environment. In airport retail, its common to find a broad mix of shoppers from different cultures, all speaking different languages. They might also be unfamiliar with brands that dont exist in their home countries. To address this, clients with phys